About Us
We deliver an unforgettable vacation experience for every pet parrot. We welcome birds of all shapes, sizes and personalities.
We create the home - away from home where our guests can perch and play while their humans are away.
We have one goal that we live by delivering 100% reliable and trustworthy bird care and boarding services.
Please peruse our website to find what you need .
This is your first time here ? Scroll down and get to know us - you'll find our story here in text and pictures !
We have converted 5400 square feet of sunny, warm and inviting space into several luxurious bird rooms,conveniently located near the San Francisco International Airport. We have a fleet of over 95 rental cages of varied sizes to best accommodate every guest.
We offer all the amenities of an unforgettable parrot vacation in the five star Hotel & Spa for Birds. Learn more
Interested in bird nutrition and our Bird Hotel menu? From our complimentary breakfast buffet to our healthy afternoon snacks. Learn more
Want to read up on health issues and bird boarding requirements. Learn more
What if you forgot something? No worries. The San Francisco Bird "Hotel Shop" carries all high-quality
items for a guaranteed great bird vacation. Learn more
Want to see our media coverage and check out our Event schedule ? Learn more
Our Story
2006
The San Francisco Bird Hotel begins as a hobby in a private residence. We start like any other classic family-operated micro business – from scratch. There are four of us - one human being and Alex, Eddie and Daisy the three Amazon parrots. Birgit is in charge (or so they let her believe) and the other three “help out.” This is the beginning of a beautiful journey!
2007-2009
One year into the Hotel "experiment" Birgit is still able to hold a full-time job and things at home are manageable but the one dedicated bird room starts to look crowded, especially during the holiday season. What better time than to publish our first website.
After continued increases in boarders, Alex, Eddie, Daisy and Birgit call for an “emergency meeting.”
We realize that this little hobby has taken on a life of its own. In fact we have developed into a reputable small business! The “Parrot Limo” is introduced as our first value-added service, providing transportation for our feathered guests to and from the house. Birgit quits her job and takes the leap into a new and awesome adventure.
2010 - 2013
More growth! In one year alone, the San Francisco Bird Hotel had a total of 87 bookings! A new record! We were elated but exhausted. Alex started hinting at needing a vacation and Eddie and Daisy wanted raises. It is time to think about expanding.
Birgit acquires the Pet Sitting company "Squawk & Howl," realizing that boarding is not always an option, especially for households with multiple animals. We complement our boarding services with professional, parrot-centric “out of the cage” bird sitting services. This venture added serious logistics. Birgit is on the road all the time. The rest of the team pitches in as best they could with Daisy answering the phones, Alex taking over the kitchen duties, and Eddie developing entertainment programs for our guests. It's crazy! Another emergency board meeting is called and the team decides it's time to bring in another “human.” Only as a team we are able to accommodate the 154 bookings in 2011.
In 2012 the birds finally take over the house! There is no more room! Furniture is dragged out piece by piece and replaced with birdcages and play stands. With over 214 bookings annual bird boarding bookings it is clear that the San Francisco Bird Hotel has to find another location – someplace bigger where we can accommodate all our feathered guests.
A whole year of looking for a new location for our Bird Hotel. We discover that not everyone is as excited about a Bird Hotel as we are. Our team expands in 2013 with the addition of Axl and Lily, two Goffin cockatoos, and Boogie, an African Grey. The vote is unanimous – we MUST find a new home! Birgit is tasked with location scouting while the new members take up their duties – Axl managing the Hotel concierge desk, Lily opening a nail salon and Boogie is thinking about a Bird Hotel Shop.The additional help came just in time as the Bird Hotel received 373 bird boarding bookings in 2013.
2014 - 2016
Finally, Birgit reports that a space has been found and after months of bureaucracy, a lease is signed! “Pack your bags!” she cries “we’re moving!” And on January 14, 2014 we do exactly that. The new location of the Bird Hotel is close to San Francisco International Airport. The gang is excited about moving into the 5,400 square foot building which provides plenty of space for the 38 rental cages as well as large play areas. And the move couldn’t have come at a better time, as there are 395 bird boarding bookings in the first six months of 2014 and the year finishes strong with a total of 527 bookings. It has to be said that one booking can cover multiple birds. Luckily, a new team member has just joined, Diamond the Macaw, who quickly brushes up his skills in Customer Service.
In 2015 the Bird Hotel still operates on “Word of Beak” marketing. By now many dedicated believers flock to Yelp to leave their reviews about our services. Our team keeps on growing. Two more humans join the flock to take over different tasks. Our cage inventory has grown to 55 and volunteers spend time with the birds. We unveil the Chirp room for our tiny guests.The Hotel develops into a full blown operation with regular business hours. We are no longer able to offer in-house pet sitting. Squawk& Howl closes down in 2015. And by the end of that year we have 856 Bird Hotel bookings.
2016 is the most intense year in the history of the Bird Hotel. First, our building is remodeled with new windows and doors,and than we decide to expand again! We leased a second building unit and things are bigger, better and even more exciting than ever before. We created the Macaw room, our cage inventory grows to more than sixty different types of cages,our staff keeps on changing and we know that the Bird Hotel has another growth spur. In short,we are incredibly busy keeping up with the demands to create the ultimate bird vacation spot. In 2016 our Ten Year Anniversary party is an unforgettable experience and going down memory lane brings (happy) tears to my eyes!
2017 -2018
With a lot of work and perseverance we continue to create a magical bird vacation place, an oasis for birds and a place filled with peace and happiness.We are going strong all year long. Our Squawk & Play events are introduced creating community for human and bird. Our human work force has increased to eight steady helpers including an Operations Manager. We have a weekend team, an IT guy, a book keeper and Marketing staff. The working days are long , our average occupancy are between 50 - 80 cages on a daily basis.The years 2017 and 2018 produce the record number of bookings with over 1287 and 1507 respectively.
2019 - 2020
The year 2019 was probably the most “happening” year ever! Of course we dealt with the usual business headaches like every small business but 2019 exceeded our expectations in every level of “being busy” . Our crew grew to eleven people and during Christmas we had to care for almost 200 birds in 150 cages. Not an easy task but we did it and we are proud of it! 2019 also was the year when our “Squawk & Play“ events developed into parties. Six years ago we started with toy making sessions and welcomed four or five people. Our themed parties in 2019 definitely turned things around and we hit it. We are the masters of entertainment for human and bird! We were looking forward to the year of 2020 to continue with the same fervor and eagerness to make our parties bigger and better but things did not turn out that way…
2020 came along and we still had to deal with the aftermath of the Christmas business of 2019 during the first two month of the year. Even March started off well until March 15 came along and presented a new reality to human kind. COVIID-19 and Shelter in Place have arrived! Havoc took over human existence worldwide. Sadness, fear and confusion was the daily agenda of any small business. Literally overnight all our momentum and efforts of 2019 have dissipated – in thin air. Instead of 95 guests we counted 15 guests, instead of eleven people as working staff we counted two people per shift. Hard times call for innovative thinking and so we reached out to our customers and proposed the idea to pre-pay any future Bird Hotel stay to keep the cash flow going. It was very emotional to see how many emails, letters and phone calls we have received with encouraging words, financial help or just plain moral support. Only with a crisis like this we realized what an immense support system the Bird Hotel has created for itself over the years. We are flattered and never have realized the true value the Bird Hotel provides to all of us bird owners in the Bay Area and California. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
COVID-19 will be with us for a long time, now we wear masks, keep social distance and all our parties have been cancelled. We are sad but we realize it is a small price to pay, to know, that the San Francisco Bird Hotel was able to survive the initial economic impact, and the whole year of 2020 for that matter, with the help of our customers and friends. The COVID crisis showed us that only with unity and togetherness we can master a situation like this. We will continue to care for all pet birds and someday the party goes on and we all will be stronger and know we are not alone. Please stay safe, wear your masks and practice social distancing. The story continues!
Squawk & Play Disco party 2019
Happy times in 2019 !
The harsh reality in March 2020. Empty Hotel!
2021 – 2022
I never thought I would say this but Thank God the year 2020 is over! The Bird Hotel has survived COVID! The year 2021 still began slow considering a final shelter in place lasting to February. The moment the shelter in place was over, there was movement again. People had enough sheltering and travel was on the agenda again! We embraced the fact that we were able to welcome our customers (human and birds) again and that we were in business again, doing what we do best - providing our services to all the bird owners in and around the Bay Area. At first our guests came back for short stays and as the year progressed the number of guests increased steadily and so did the length of their stays. We called it the “recuperation year”. There were not many changes in the Bird Hotel during that year, but one significant improvement was that we increased our boarding area with a tent we erected in our warehouse. The tent provides space for an additional 20 cages, space we desperately needed to accommodate all our Christmas guests. The year ended with a total of 1828 bookings which was 114 less bookings then in 2019. Better than nothing after a 12-month COVID drought. Happy days again!
The year 2022 had the feel of normal again. Of course, the COVID aftermath still haunted the small business community but not so much in our day-to-day business. We improved, we maintained, we cleaned, we strived again. People ventured out for long oversea trips, taking well-deserved vacations but we also noticed that many people moved away and left the Bay Area. COVID sure left a destructive path through society and had created new challenges we had to deal with. Constant staffing issues became prevalent during summer and fall, our weekend crew fell apart and we needed to reinvent ourselves just to be able to keep up with the demand. Our core team worked harder and more hours and in true team spirit and unity we managed once again to overcome new obstacles. The rest of the year became crazy, we never received so many bookings as on Christmas 2022. We created more room, added chirp room No.3 to accommodate the large number of parakeets checking in during the holiday season. Customers and friends stepped in to help with feeding our guests and important cleaning chores. We finished 2022 with a new record of 2213 bookings – reflecting a 17% increase in comparison to 2021.
The new addition of the tent in 2021.
Bright, warm and cozy
Cages everywhere in 2022
September 30 2023
The journey comes to an end!
I haven’t been on adventure traveling for many years, but the journey of the Bird Hotel was the longest, most incredible, intense, rewarding and mind-altering experience I ever had. Now, 16 years later I have to say goodbye. I grew old with my vision; I grew old with the creation of the Bird Hotel which outgrew me along the way. I was hugged, kissed, doubted, yelled at, insulted, praised, pressured, tested to my limits, ridiculed and more than once lectured in my long journey of the Bird Hotel. But one thing I always will be grateful for is what all the beautiful birds taught me: 1) you are not in a rush when you talk to me 2) take a deep breath and listen to me 3) look me in the eye and see my soul.
I see their souls, their beliefs, their instincts, their desires, their wishes and most importantly their needs. The collective bird spirit, the flock instinct.
What happened at the Bird Hotel is divine, it is sacred, it is peaceful, it is simply unique.
The Bird Hotel reflects what I needed to do. It was my job to found and create a place for birds, where happiness is shared and chatter is no bother, where different bird languages transcendent into a symphony of heavenly sounds (even if it hurts the ear at times) Where colors blend into a concoction of everlasting rainbows, where the beautiful innocent souls shine through and give back. My job is done! My wings were tucked in for too long but now I am going to fly again.
I owe it to the Bird Hotel and its patrons to make sure that the legacy will continue. After my retirement announcement I received so many warm hearted and beautiful messages filled with love, understanding and compassion but there was also doubt, anger and confusion.
All I can say is that I would not have handed the Bird Hotel over to just anyone… I made sure the same spirit will continue. Christina and Mayra are the right people! Both working at the Bird Hotel for several years. They do understand bird language and share the passion we all have for our birds. Tony is the business part of the puzzle. It is important that the Bird Hotel can exist, strive and withstand (look what happened during COVID) and I cannot picture anyone else who can do this other than Tony.
Of course, there will be changes but still better than the alternative in closing down the Bird Hotel because I ran out of steam, unable to fly with it. In the spirit of the bird world, I need a perch to rest for a while to grief and to regroup before I go on with my own adventures.
I had no idea how many lives I touched with the Bird Hotel and the community it has created. I will miss it all and cherish it in my memory for the rest of my life.
My Bird Hotel is flying away with other people on board, I have to let go. I have to trust, and I have to guide as much as I can so they can fly strong together and make the Bird Hotel their own. The page has turned. Chapter 2 is not written yet, but I am sure they will have their own incredible adventures and stories to share down the road. Enjoy the ride!
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Since 2006, we have met many colorful members of the Bay Area's bird community, as well as the lovely people who care for them. Our extended “family” continues to grow year after year and we are eager to learn what the coming years will bring.
About us in Pictures
This page is dedicated to show the development of the San Francisco Bird Hotel in pictures from 2011 to now.
There is so much to tell and even more to show so we let our pictures do the talking. After all a picture is worth a thousand words !
Click on the pictures, hover and enjoy the journey through time!
